Thursday, November 24, 2016

Thankfulness

Today is Thanksgiving Day in the United States. Yesterday, my dear friend gave up her battle with cancer and went Home to live with the Heavenly Father.

Thanksgiving finds its origins in early meals of thankfulness for the harvest. Over the past almost 400 years, people have held an annual observance of thankfulness.

In our modern lives where we are no longer all hunting, growing, harvesting, and preserving our own food, the holiday of Thanksgiving has become a day to give thanks for all manner of things from food to friends and family and beyond.

I give thanks today for my family, our health, and our home. I give thanks for my friends, their health, and their homes. I give thanks for the time I had with my dear friend while she was here with us on Earth, and that she is no longer suffering with the excruciating pain of her illness. I give thanks that I was able to see her out, and that we shared farewell sentiments.

It is amazing to me how a person can be the glue that holds others together. Sometimes families don't even realize that a certain person is the one who binds them all, and the hole that person leaves will create a void that all else crumbles and falls into, perhaps irreversibly.

In my work life, I often see families crumble after a death. Sometimes this can be avoided with good planning. Other times, it is unavoidable and so dividing that people stop talking to each other altogether. In my personal life, I have experienced the silence of family members for 15 - 20 years or more. It is always tragic when the loss of one person causes the downfall of a family, but it shows how important each of us is to the working dynamic of a circle of family and friends. It also shows the importance of planning and maintaining good, healthy communication at all times. Nobody wants to talk about what would happen "if", but these are
discussions that people need to have so that in the eventuality of a
death, all surrounding lives can navigate a smooth transition.

Hug your loved ones tightly, today and every day, and make sure you let them know how to manage with and without you. Most of all, tell them you love them, and let them know you are thankful for their presence in your life.

As ever, I thank the Heavenly Father for allowing me this human existence, and for the love I have known and will know. I am thankful for the health of my mind and body, for the time I have with my family and friends, and for my ability to lend a helping hand to others along the way.